Afterwards
by Nightwing Lady
Summary: Takes place after the events of the episode The Underdwellers. What became of Frog afterwards? Do he and Batman ever see each other again? Longer summary inside. ON HIATUS, explanation on Chapter 3
1. Chapter 1

HAI, this is my first attempt at a comic related fan fiction, so please bear with me. I was inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series episode called "The Under-Dwellers" and I thought to myself, "how was this kid not adopted by Bruce Wayne?!" And "this would have made a good origin story!"

I suggest you watch said episode before reading this, I'm pretty sure its online somewhere. I might change up some of the continuity, I might not, and everything I write is made up on the spot as I type. I'm not even sure myself how it's going to end.

This is a long author's note, I gotta shut up now. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Do I own Batman? NO I DO NOT. If I did, that would be pretty awesome. Now I shut my mouth hole.

**Chapter One:**

After the events of that day, Batman, secretly billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne arrived to the Batcave to archive his latest adventure and to repose for the rest of the evening. As he climbed out of the Batmobile, he pulled back the cowl to reveal his face. He rubbed his eyes with his gloved fingers and sat down in the computer chair.

_How could anyone be this evil? To children! _He thought to himself. The so-called Sewer King had actually made him consider—even for a moment—breaking his number one rule.

"_I don't pass sentence. That's for the courts. But this time - __**THIS TIME**__ - I am sorely tempted to do the job myself." _

His train of thought was broken by the sound of Alfred's accurate and proper steps echoing through the walls of the cave. "Long night, Master Bruce?" he asked as he unveiled a silver tray with white china tea cups and a matching tea pot.

"Certainly felt like it." Bruce answered as he helped himself to a cup.

"What of the boy?" The old butler asked, "By the looks of it, doesn't seem that he'll be staying another night."

Bruce momentarily thought about what he had seen in the sewers. Dozens of children trapped in the darkness for who knows how long. Underfed, dirty—it made him feel sick to his stomach just thinking about it. "There were so many kids down there, Alfred." He said after taking a sip of his earl gray, "Down there under our feet every day, working for scum like the Sewer King and not being able to do a thing."

"The '_Sewer_ King', master Bruce?"

"That's what he called himself. He ran a personal child slavery industry in the sewers. How _long_ had that been going on?"

"Well, it's all over now, sir. You saved dozens of children from a life of misery and servitude. "Alfred said. "I admit, though probably not much of disbelief, I was quite astonished to find you bring a child to the manor. Last time that happened, the child became your ward."

Bruce smirked. "Did you think I was going to bring in another child?" It was hard enough juggling around his responsibilities as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a parent, _and_ Batman. As much as he hated to admit it, but when Dick left for college it was a small load off his back.

"Perhaps." Alfred lightly chuckled. "I admit that the thought did occur to me for a moment. Perhaps you missed having a young lad run around the property in awe." He continued as he picked up Bruce's now empty tea cup and proceeded up the stairs leading back into the manor. Before disappearing completely, Alfred turned around. "I'm going to draw you a bath, the smell you brought home from the sewers is just _ghastly_."

Bruce was facing the computer screen, so Alfred didn't notice yet another smirk come across his face. "Alright, I'll come up in a bit."

The comment about the boy made Bruce think even deeper. _Maybe I do miss having a kid around_. It was hard trying to spend quality time with Dick ever since he went to Gotham University. He would sometimes come back home and when he did it was great! He loved spending time with his son. He cherished the moments they spent fighting crime or even just watching TV in the same room.

_Is this how parents feel?_

Bruce leaned back into his chair and remembered the first few days of Dick's arrival.

* * *

_**Ten years back~**_

It was a slow night in Gotham City and there was no trace of Tony Zucco—yet. Batman decided to call it a night and go back home.

After going through the nightly procedure of getting out of costume and ridding himself of the stink of the city, he changed into his pajamas and walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. _What am I missing? There has to be something that I'm missing! _He thought to himself. He wanted to take down Tony Zucco—nothing would stop him from getting to that goal.

His thoughts were interrupted by a squeak. _A squeak? _It was then, that he realized that he just walked by his old bedroom—which was where the young boy he had taken in a few days ago was sleeping. The squeak then turned into a quiet moan.

_The nightmares. I know those experiences all too well. _

Bruce opened the door and what he saw made him feel sick and nostalgic. Nine-year-old Dick was tossing and turning in his sheets, sweat dripped down his face, tears streamed down his cheeks, and worst of all—he tried to reach for his parents.

"Mm!" the little boy mumbled. "Dd!"

This was too much for him to watch.

"Dick." He whispered as he gently moved the boy's arm. "Dick, wake up."

Two shining blue orbs popped open and Dick stared intently into his guardian's eyes. "Bruce." He squeaked. The boy quickly got up in a sitting position and rubbed his face with the sleeves of his pajamas. "I'm sorry" he apologized, "it was just a dream."

Bruce sat on the edge of the bed and softly put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You mean it was a _nightmare_."

Dick looked up and quickly looked back down into his lap and nodded. "Yes."

_He still isn't completely comfortable being here. _

"Would you like to talk about it?" Bruce asked, "With someone who knows what you're going through."

Dick looked back up again; his frown wasn't as gloomy as before. He rubbed his nose with a pajama sleeve. "I guess."

"How about we go into the kitchen? I can whip us up some hot chocolate." He said trying to lighten up the moment. _There should be one less low-spirited person in this house. _"Won't be as good as Alfred's though."

At the statement, a smile finally appeared on the nine-year-old's face. "It's fine, Bruce. I'd like that."

* * *

_**~Present~**_

Still dressed in the Batman suit, Bruce couldn't help but smile at the fond memory. It was the first time he and Dick had a true father/son moment. To this day, he still can't get that dang hot chocolate recipe up to Alfred's standards.

He then thought of the boy—the boy he brought to Wayne Manor a few short days ago. He never learned his name. _What's going on with his life now?_

**AN:** First chapter done! As you can probably tell…I love Robin…I LOVE DaddyBats. I eat that up :3 Chapter is short? Yes. My writing style is somewhat questionable? Yes, but what do you think?

Reviews will be greatly appreciated and will inspire me to write more if you like it!

Is this worth continuing?

Quote from Bruce's reminiscing of his fight with Sewer King is directly from the episode. That scene was flipping awesome.

Also, if you know any DaddyBats (I mostly prefer Bruce and Dick) stories, feel free to recommend some stories with your review! :D

BAI!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **One review was apparently enough motivation for me to continue xD If you're reading this and you're shy about reviewing….please don't be shy. Free virtual cookies and hugs for every review! :D

And I actually don't have much to do this weekend! I can write! :D I played **Injustice: Gods Among Us **with my friends yesterday and it was AMAZING! Nightwing kicked everybody's asses…I felt awesome, me being a person who doesn't play video games that much. Anyways, here is the second chapter! Please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

The next day, Bruce Wayne was sitting at the head of the table during a meeting with his fellow associates at Wayne Enterprises.

_Why are these meetings always so dull?_ He thought to himself.

He was only half paying attention; he already knew his decision on the ideas being thrown at him. His mind was mainly on the boy he rescued a few days ago. _He's probably reunited with family members like the rest of the kids. _

The Sewer King had said that they were kids who weren't wanted by anyone. Maybe that was true for their negligent parents, but apparently there were distant relatives who were looking day and night for the children. In some cases, there were parents who were extremely distraught that their child had run away and gone missing.

There were reports on the news sometimes about handfuls of children returning back to their families. Not only did Bruce wish that for all the children, but he wished for it especially for that little brown-haired boy with the torn sleeves.

After putting his input on the topics, the meeting was adjourned and he was finally able to go home. It was around 8 PM, the sky was dark, and some business buildings around him were shutting off their lights for the day.

_Time to go home and prepare for my evening job._

Bruce walked towards his car and opened the passenger seat to put in his briefcase and a folder of documents he would look over at the last minute tomorrow. He closed the door and walked over to the other side—extremely prepared to put on the cowl and prowl the night, _why am I feeling so anxious?_—until he heard a quiet rustling sound.

Being the ever cautious vigilante, he stopped what he was doing and stood still. He was the one in the company parking lot. Most of the employees had already gone home—Bruce was almost always the last one to go home—besides the security. He looked around his surroundings and felt a sudden pang of nostalgia.

* * *

**~Five years back~**

Yet another boring meeting at Wayne Enterprises was over, although it ended a little later than usual. An anxious Bruce Wayne still had to go home and get himself into costume. After getting his things together, he sped walked to the company parking lot and did his usual routine of putting his business things in the passenger seat.

He sat himself in the driver's seat and was about to drive, but something stopped him. Something was out of the norm. He checked his surroundings—he checked the outside and the passenger seat and when he checked the back seats—there he was: a masked boy dressed in red and green tights with an _R_ symbol on his chest who was comfortably lounging across the seats. With a big grin on his face and a friendly wave "Hiya!" he greeted.

"Dick!" Bruce said, somewhat surprised. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"About ten minutes." The fourteen year old answered. "Alfred said that you were running late, so I decided to come to you instead of waiting at home." He grabbed a hidden duffle bag from under the passenger seat. "Brought your costume!"

Bruce couldn't help but feel a little pride. Dick had managed to come across town by himself and sneak into his car without sounding the car alarm—_without_ being seen. He was almost at his level of stealth. "Did you finish your homework?"

Robin's face slightly fell, but managed to keep a smirk. "Yes _mom_."

"Double check it?"

"_Yes! _I even _triple_ checked it because you were taking so long!" the boy responded with a sarcastic grunt. "Can we go now?"

With a smirk of his own, Bruce turned back to the wheel. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

**~Present~**

Bruce highly doubted that Dick would be sitting in the back seat of his car again—he was still at Gotham University and according the schedule he wouldn't be back home until Spring Break which was two weeks away.

He walked around his car and started following the rustling sound. "If you know what's good for you, you better come out from hiding now." He said menacingly almost using his deeper Batman voice.

The rustling got louder. It was coming from a few trash bags leaning against the walls of the building. "I know you're there, just come out and I won't report you for spying." He couldn't be _that_ threatening—he was currently Bruce Wayne, not Batman.

The trash bags moved and a small body emerged from them. Bruce's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe was he was seeing, it was the little boy from the sewers! The boy was still dressed in the rags he was wearing when Batman found him and the underground community of children.

He looked afraid and looked around him. Bruce approached him slowly "What are you—" but before he could finish, the boy started running. "Hey!" Bruce called out, but he was already gone.

He went back into his car. He sat in the seat and dialed a few buttons with his car phone. "Alfred? It's Bruce. Please have the costume and Batmobile ready when I get there. I have a feeling that it's going to be another long night."

* * *

**AN:** Ok…I think this chapter was a little shorter. Sorry. I feel that I went a little too fast, what do you think? I don't wanna pull what the writers of Young Justice did with the last few episodes…waaaay too fast (and not enough Bat family stuff…tee hee I am biased x3) I guess that happens when your show is being cancelled. Those douches! That show better get a third season.

Do you like flashbacks? I didn't expect myself to write them, but I just came out like that and I liked it! I think I'll write a lot more in the upcoming chapters :D

I kinda went off topic. Anyways, please leave a review and hopefully I'll have another (hopefully longer) chapter done soon! K, Bye!


	3. Announcement

Announcement!

Hey guys! For those of you who are reading this, I am sorry for the really long wait. I randomly started working on a different story that was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but it has now unexpectedly expanded and demands most of my attention. I will eventually come back to "Afterwards"; don't worry for those of you who are actually reading and expecting updates from this.

The other story I am working on is also a Batman and Robin story, which you can find on my profile. It's called "Everybody Loves a Clown" if you are interested. It is currently at three chapters and the fourth is still in process…because I suddenly have a bad case of writer's block.

ELAC is actually better written and has longer chapters…because I actually took the time to edit it.

When I am finished with that one, I plan on heavily editing the already existing chapters of "Afterwards" so that there is better progress and it doesn't seem so rushed along with a third chapter.…so I guess you have that to look forward to.

And lastly, due to my writer's block on ELAC, I released my creative frustration on a one-shot (that is _staying_ a one-shot) called "Birdie in a Basket"—which you can find on my profile as well. It is _also_ a Batman and Robin story set in Yale Stewart's JL8 web comic series. More information on that in the actually story.

So, I guess that's it. Have a nice day! And sorry for making you wait so long!

~Nightwing Lady


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